Schools have valuable information to protect for both students and employees. School management needs to take reasonable steps to ensure protection beyond data sharing policies. School records contain health information on all IEP students, employees, and any medical needs shared with the nurse or school officials. Professional Reputation: As evidenced by recent incidents, stories about data hacks stay in the news for many cycles. MORE

After much speculation – and meetings from those the media described as “potential candidates,” including Michelle Rhee (who visited the President-Elect with husband, “accused sexual abuser Kevin Johnson ,” as Deadspin put it , in tow) – Donald Trump has made his pick for Secretary of Education: Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos. ” Via The New York Times : “Where Donald Trump Stands on School Choice , Student Debt and Common Core.” MORE

That being said, if you’re using a piece of technology that’s free, it’s likely that your personal data is being sold to advertisers or at the very least hoarded as a potential asset (and used, for example, to develop some sort of feature or algorithm). It works well, that is, if you disregard student data privacy and security. The implication, according to one NYT article : “the digital gap between rich and poor kids is not what we expected.” MORE

Do you know where your data is stored? With the increased emphasis on student data privacy, many school leaders might think they have a handle on cyber security. Many schools still rely on the once-a-year cyber security seminar or focus on too narrowly on a specific issue, like not posting student info online. Know the life of your data. This starts with knowing where the data is stored (on site, in the cloud, where the back-up files are, etc.). MORE

When Congress passed FERPA (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) in 1974, school and district leaders could rely on once-a-year training and reviews to make sure they remained in compliance. Now, when educators could potentially add a new app with a few mouse clicks, managing student data privacy is a never-ending task. Leaders need to provide their constituencies (teachers, students, parents, vendors, etc.) MORE

Despite universal concerns about student data privacy, communicating school policies can quickly overwhelm school leaders. CoSN has stepped in with guidance for superintendents and principals to help them with several aspects of student data privacy, including best practices for informing the community. with an overlay of state and local laws makes understanding privacy regulations difficult at every level of education. MORE

Whether schools are 1:1 or still relying on computer carts, the move to online assessments creates new needs from devices to professional development to data privacy policies. So, whatever is used for testing should flow naturally from what the students have already encountered in their lessons. An assessment should not be the first time students use a piece of technology. First, teachers need time to create feedback for their students. MORE